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Growing Lettuce

(lactuca sativa)

Jan

Feb

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S

S

P

P

P

P

(Best months for growing Lettuce in USA - Zone 5a regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays P = Sow seed

Easy to grow. Sow in garden, or start in seed trays and plant out in 4-6 weeks.. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
Best planted at soil temperatures between 46°F and 81°F.
(Show °C/cm)

Lettuce offer a range of shapes, sizes and colours but they are all easy to grow.
Choose a variety marked on the seed packet as suitable for the time of year as some do badly in the very hot months.
Try to provide some shade to prevent them 'bolting' to flower and seed in the hottest months.

Sow in rows and use thinnings as small salad greens

Lettuce are shallow rooted so water daily in hot or dry weather to prevent bitter flavour. and bolting.

Beer traps work well with snails and slugs - just cut a panel out of the side of a lidded yoghurt/margerine/sour cream plastic container, and as long as you leave an inch or so lip on the bottom of the cut out panel, you can fill the tub to the hole with beer, and put the lid on to keep the rainwater out. Check it every day or so - it can get quite full of slugs and snails so it will need to be regularly emptied and topped up - slugs and snails don't care what beer you give them - I found collecting the leftover dregs from BBQ's/parties to be the cheapest option, otherwise cheap beer is fine.

Could you please let me know how much water a lettuce needs to stop it going to seed. I have planted several types over the past six months, but they either don,t grow very well or just go to seed.The soil has plenty of fertiliser and the wife turns on the micro sprinkler system each day for around 10 mins.The soil seems damp and i also use sugar cane mulch to stop the soil from drying out, I live in Queensland and the sun is on the lettuce best part of the day at the moment i have cos growing (for about six weeks) and one is just going to seed (feed that to the chooks) and the others look like they might be.The runner beans are doing very well and i have had some great spring onions as well, any help on this would be great.

If your lettuce are bolting (going to seed quickly) in Queensland, check how deep the water is penetrating into the soil. It may be drying up too quickly. Have you tried giving the plants some shade in the middle of the day?
Also find out which varieties your local plant nursery is selling as seedlings. They may be the varieties that will be successful in your area.

Lettuces prefer cooler weather and can stand a light frost. If the frosts are heavy and continuous the freeze will cause the leaves to break down and become necrotic (rot). Butterhead and Romaine type lettuces will tolerate much cooler conditions than the other varieties. You ccould cover them with old towels, etc but prolonges frosts would stil cause damage. Try growing lettuce as micro-greens on cotton wool or paper towel in a tray dampened with water. You could grow them inside and harvest the little leaves by snipping with scissors. All the best.

- John

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department.
The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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